Great new stuff

Keep up to date with the latest in tech gadgets and accessories.

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9

Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone is here and it’s bigger than ever. The Note 9 now has a hefty 6.4-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display, an IP68 rating, dual rear-facing camera with dual OIS, a water carboncooling system and Android 8.1 pre-installed.

The entry-level version comes with a decent 6 GB RAM and 128 GB expandable on-board storage, while the higher-specced version has 8 GB RAM and 512 GB expandable on-board storage, all of which is powered by a 4 000 mah battery.

The S-pen is now the most advanced it’s ever been. Available in a striking yellow (if you get the Ocean Blue Note 9), it’s now Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) enabled, which means it can be used as a remote shutter trigger, play or pause controls for music or video, and as a clicker to help you move through presentations (when your Note 9 is being used in DEX mode).

The S-pen has a 30-minute battery life when in standby mode, and fully charges in under one minute when inserted into the phone. Samsung has also announced that it will be opening the S-pen SDK to developers, so more use cases for the Bluetooth functionality can be created.

The Galaxy Note 9 is currently available in South Africa in three colours: Ocean Blue, Metallic Copper and Midnight Black. RRP R18 999 (128 GB version) RRP R23 999 (512 GB version)

LENOVO THINKPAD P1

Lenovo’s just unveiled the Thinkpad P1, calling it its ‘thinnest, lightest and sleekest mobile workstation’. Featuring 8th-gen Intel Xeon and Core processors with support for the Core i9 CPU and clockable speeds of up to 4.6 GHZ, it is a beast of a machine. If you’re wondering about graphics capabilities, you’ll be happy to know that the P1 features NVIDIA’S Quadro P1000 and P2000 graphics cards. It also has Bluetooth 5.0, two USB Type-c Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB 3.1 Type-a ports, an HDMI port, a mini Gigabit Ethernet port, a headphone/ mic combination jack and SD- and smart-card slots.

You’ll be able to get it with either Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Pro for Workstations as the operating system.

The P1 is a marvel of engineering, because it packs in a ton of features and ports, a 15.6-inch display and an 80 Wh battery in a body that’s only 18.4 mm thick. RRP R27 999

FITBIT CHARGE 3

Fitbit’s latest addition to its successful Charge range is here. The all-new Charge 3 has a touchscreen display, more than 15 exercise modes, battery life of up to seven days, and is swimproof thanks to a water resistance of up to 50 m – a first for any Charge device.

A relative SPO2 sensor (another first for Fitbit devices) brings the ability to estimate changes in your blood oxygen. This opens the door to a range of possibilities, like the ability to track breathing disruptions such as asthma, sleep apnea or allergies.

Following in the footsteps of the Fitbit Versa, the Charge 3 also has female health tracking, and will bring Run Detect with automatic pause and stop in a future update.

Moving beyond the health features that you love in a Fitbit, the Charge 3 will include enhanced smart features, allowing you to respond to messages with pre-populated texts, check notifications and more.

If you opt to get the Charge 3 Special Edition and have a qualifying FNB account, you can make cardless payments with Fitbit Pay. Compatible with Android and IOS, the Fitbit Charge 3 is available in graphite aluminium or rose-gold aluminium. RRP R2 599 (standard edition) RRP R3 099 (special edition)

SPIGEN RUGGED ARMOR

The first thing to do when getting a fancy new smartphone is get a case to protect it.

Spigen’s Rugged Armor cases – for a range of different phones – are the perfect slimline cases to give you added protection without adding too much bulk. Made from a flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), the Rugged Armor case has Spigen’s shock-absorbing Air Cushion Technology and a unique spiderweb design built in. It also has a raised lip, which provides protection for your display, something that not every smartphone case has.

Available at takealot.com. From R235 (prices vary depending on handset)